More than 200 Palestinian militants have pledged to end terror attacks against Israel in exchange for receiving a job from the Palestinian Authority. A spokesman for the PA indicated that this was the first step towards disarming militant groups as spelled out in the agreement signed between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Egypt in February.

The former militants were guaranteed jobs by the PA in exchange for their pledge. Many of them will now work for the Palestinian Authority police while others will take civilian jobs. The militants did not have to turn in their weapons immediately in order to qualify for the program which made many Israeli officials skeptical.

Abdel-Fattah Hamayel, a former PA cabinet member told Reuters, 'It is only the beginning. At the end of this process the only legitimate weapons will be the weapons in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.'

The agreement signed by the militants, half of whom are wanted by Israel for carrying out terrorist attacks that have killed Israelis during the second intifadah, signed a pledge saying they agreed 'not to carry out any action that violates security and rule of law and agreements reached between the Palestinian Authority and any state or party.'

Still, most of the militants are refusing to turn in their weapons. Zakaria al-Zubaidi, a West Bank leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade insisted, 'Abandoning a gun is like abandoning one's honor.'

Other militants have put conditions on turning in their guns, saying they will not do so until a Palestinian state is declared or other conditions. Some do not believe Israel will stop trying to hunt them down even if they do turn in their arms.

Most of those signing the pledge so far are from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militant organization tied directly to Abbas's Fatah movement. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have already declared that they will not lay down their weapons and remain dedicated to the destruction of Israel. For now, an informal and fragile cease fire continues to hold despite mortar attacks fired by militants in Gaza over the weekend.

For Mahmoud Abbas, this gradual process is his best hope for disarming militants without causing a civil war between Palestinian groups. Should the effort fail, he will have problems with both the militants and the Israelis, a position that is doubly unenviable.